Prep Bowl redemption for Brooks
Pat Freiermuth and the rest of the Brooks football team had a full year to digest a narrow loss in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference Bowl.
Last night on the frozen turf at Kennedy Field, they finally put that loss in the rearview mirror as Brooks toppled New Hampton, 24-14, to win the NEPSAC Ken O’Keefe Bowl last night in New Hampton, N.H.
“It’s an unreal feeling, especially after losing in a close game last year,” said Freiermuth, who will play tight end next year for Penn State. “It’s a great way to end my high school career. The whole Brooks community have been great and I can’t thank them enough.”
With temps at 27 degrees for kickoff, it was the visitors from the Independent School League who were able to hold onto the ball and take advantage of several fumbles from the host Huskies, who captured New Hampshire’s Evergreen Conference.
A 1-yard plunge from Jay Cromwell (74 yards) got Brooks (7-2) on the board, and when senior Seamus Lambert found Freiermuth in stride on a 43-yard hookup, Brooks looked to be in charge with a 14-0 lead with 6:04 left in the half.
The Huskies’ Matt Brehon’s 90-yard kickoff return cut that lead in half, but a huge fumble recovery by Brooks deep in NH territory set up a 16-yard TD strike from Lambert (11-of-15, 134 yards; 88 yards rushing) to Terrell Brown just before the half.
“I think our guys did a great job of capitalizing some turnovers and making some plays when they had to,” said Brooks coach Pat Foley, whose team ran for 217 yards. “Only 14 teams in New England get to these games and we wanted to be one of the seven that won one.”
Hugo Krishan added a 31-yard field goal for Brooks. Freiermuth, from his post at linebacker, had a huge stop on fourth down in the third quarter, and forced a fumble in the fourth to end it.
State vocational playoffs
Shawsheen 12, Diman 7 — Junior Shawn Powderly ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries as the Rams (7-4) defeated the Bengals in the Large Schools semifinals.
Assabet Valley 26, Greater Lawrence 12 — Justin Phillips ran for a touchdown, threw for one and also set up another score with a key fumble recovery to spark the Aztecs to victory against the Reggies in the Large Schools semifinals. Ader Mezidor had a first-half touchdown run for Greater Lawrence.